Hello there! I'm back to post my workouts this week. I had a pretty unplugged weekend, and it was really nice. The girls and I spent some time with family and I got a decent amount of schoolwork done. Saturday we went to my school for this agricultural fair, it was really cute! The girls were still a little young for it, but we got to see cows, chickens, sheep, etc. The university also has their own homemade ice cream facility, where they have no-sugar added vanilla. It's pretty much everything I've ever wanted in an ice cream. I wish it was a more common thing - most desserts are too sweet for me! The girls tried it and didn't really love it. Whose kids are they??
....At least they are cute in their little rain jackets!
In other news, I twisted my ankle during a workout. I didn't even realize it was a problem until afterward when the side of it turned blue and I had some serious ligament pain. I've been icing/compressing/elevating and it's slowly starting to feel better. I already have some issues with my left ankle because I broke it 7 years ago, now my right is the problem. I ordered one of those copper compression sleeves to see if it will help. In the meantime, I'm going to avoid any leg/high impact workouts for at least the next week. It's really hard with this type of soft-tissue injury - on one hand, I'd like to get back to normal workouts ASAP... on the other, I don't want to make it worse and be out of commission for even longer. I'm just going to take this opportunity to focus on upper body strength and dial in my diet. Working out is a lifestyle thing for me and I'd rather not injure myself long-term!

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Hello! Hope you had a great weekend. Just wanted to pop in real quick and document my workouts, etc. If this week had a category, it would be "a little bit of everything." I just kind of felt like mixing it up and doing some random circuits that I made up.
I also started carb cycling a bit this week. I'm always looking to try new things, so my goal is to decrease carbs to <50 grams twice per week (on rest days or active recovery days) and see what happens. I did intermittent fasting for a while, but I found that didn't mesh well with switching to early morning workouts - I would just get hungry and be crabby all day. I feel like carb cycling is a little more gentle, but might still have a similar fat burning effect. I'll do a post on it at some point down the road!
I think I'm starting to see some definition in the arm + back department!
In other news, my twins have been super upset the past few days. I suspect it's teething (as usual), but it's been a lot to handle. They've also learned how to say "no" in context. It's the standard answer to every question now. Lord help me.
See above - Twin A being sassy and Twin B looking sad. How many teeth do humans have again??
Anyway, back to workouts:
Monday: 4/18
warm up: jump rope
deadlift: worked up to 5 sets at 165#
Tuesday: 4/19
3 rounds:
10 high, 24" step ups (each leg)
10 slow hand-release push ups (3 secs down, 1 sec pause at bottom)
20 jump squats
10 chest flies on the rings
10 in and outs
100 jump ropes
10 tricep dips on box
Wednesday: 4/20
rest day!
Thursday: 4/21
warm up: worked on ankle mobility - banded lunges + static squat holds
3 x 5 band-assisted ring dips
WOD:
every 3 minutes for 7 rounds
10 straight leg deadlifts (65#)
5 power snatches (65#)
10 overhead squats
*I'm really not there yet with overhead squats, since my ankle mobility is not that great. Instead of adding weight, I use a resistance band (like this one - I have black). If you grip the band wide and pull it tight, you'll end up contracting your back muscles instead of "shrugging" while you hold your arms up. I'm hoping to add weight soon - but I'm taking my time in getting the form right so I don't hurt myself!
Friday: 4/22
warm up: jump rope
strength: power cleans - worked up to 105#
WOD: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 .... 1
hang cleans (65#)
front squats (65# - don't drop the bar in between cleans + squats!!)
burpees
took me 14:45 - I was moving very slow, this is WAY tougher than it looks. I definitely challenge you to give it a try. I was panic breathing the entire time!
Saturday: 4/23
max banded pull ups x 3
max banded chin ups x 3
3 x 10 ring rows (with pause at the top of movement)
supersets:
1. 3 x 5 floor press (65# - works best if you have bumpers - or if you have a bench, use it!)
2. 3 x 10 push ups
1. 3 x 15 glute bridges (65#)
2. 3 x 20 reverse lunges w/ 10# at each side
1. 3 x 10 bent over rows (barbell - 65#)
2. 3 x 10 bicep curls (35#)
3. 3 x 10 one arm bent over rows (20#)
1. 3 x 10 hanging knee raises
2. 3 x 10 "tick tocks" (35#)
Sunday: 4/24
rest day/"crop fit" - I started a very small garden!
I cleared out this bed and planted all of the things that like to be planted this time of year - onions, two types of kale, lettuces, spinach, peas, beans, broccoli, thyme, rosemary, parsley + summer squashes. I'm going to wait a few weeks for tomatoes, peppers, basil, etc. I planted the kale and lettuces on the side using this bag method. We'll see what happens!
Monday: 4/25
The "Bear Complex"
without dropping the bar, you do hang clean + front squat + push press + back squat + push press = 1 rep.
(except I did 7 sets of 5 reps instead of 7x7. I was trying to go heavier than normal, this is the kind of thing I usually do very light! Believe me, 65# is very challenging with this)
1: 45# 2: 55# 3: 65# 4: 65# 5: 65# 6: 55# 7: 55#
then: 3 rounds of:
5 band-assisted ring dips
10 skull crushers (20#)
10 OH triceps extension (10#)
10 triceps pull down (I used a band)
I'd love to hear about some of your workouts this week!Have you ever done carb cycling? Anyone else starting a garden? I could use all of the tips I can get!